The Irish standard., 1887-03-12
LOTTERIES IN FRANCE.

LOTTERIES IN FRANCE.
A Gigantic swindle in Which Numerous
Companies Are Engaged.
The French law forbids lotteries, but
there is clause in the code which
authorizes the Government to permit
them in certain cases. This paradox
is not the only one I could indicate
were I so minded; the reason why I
mention this one is because of recent
exposures made in connection with a
lawsuit, wherein it was shown that lot
terry companies in France have now to
pay as high as 60 per cent. commissions
on the sale of their tickets. There are
different opinions as to the morality
and advisability of lotteries; you have
yours and I have mine, and ex-Queen
Isabella of Spain has hers also. ':Never
slam the door in the face of Fortune. -
said she once, in my hearing. ''That
is why I always buy few tickets in
every lottery to which my attention is
directed" she added. The first lottery
authorized by the third republic was
that held in connection with the ex-
position of 1873; but since then it has
authorized thirty-eight others, and has
also permitted the sale in France Of
tickets by foreign lottery concern
the one of the Amsterdam exposition.
These forty lotteries represent NOM
inal capital of 100000 francs
that is to say, the total cost
of the tickets they were author
lied to issue foot up to that sum,
the one with the largest capital being
for the creation of mus cum of deco
rative art, which was authorized to issue
100000 tickets of 1 franc each.
The first four or five of these lotteries
were rapidly taken up by the public;
they were, comparatively speaking, a
new thing, ten years having elapsed
since any lottery had been authorized.
The lottery of the dramatic artists
placed 600, 900 tickets in less than a
week, and the Algerian's 5000, 600
tickets were all taken up inside Of five
months. But the fondness of the pub
lie for this kind of gambling soon
slackened; after half dozen lotteries
were drawn people began to perceive
that no matter how many tickets they
might take their chances of winning
the capital prize of 200, 600 or of $780,
900 francs was very small indeed when
there were five million other persons,
and sometimes ten of them, to take
part in the drawing, and this fondness
of the public for lotteries began to cool
off considerably. Nevertheless, the
dinister of the Interior continues to
rant these permissions to hold
drawings and sometimes there
are as many as 100000 tickets
on the market at once. 1t is this
competition which has run
up commissions from Is to 80 per cent.
to 40 and so, and in some cases even to
so. No one can make me believe tn at
a grand prize will ever be won honestly
from a concern that pays more than
half of its gross receipts away to gen.
eral agents.
Apropos, here is the lottery system of
Italy as recently explained to me. In
the case of the Italian Red Cross So
ciety there have been issued 100000
bonds of Is livres-that is to say, about
$5 each-thus furnishing the society
with cash capitalof Is, 600, 900 lire ($5,-
0O0,0OO). These bonds are to be paid
off inside of tifty-one years by means of
quarterly drawings; those drawn dur
ing the first ten years are paid at the
rate of 80 lire each, and during the SUBJ
sequent years this repayment value
gradually increases until it reaches
during the last six years the rate of As
lire. Those who take the bonds or
tickets are thus at least sure of getting
their money back sooner or later, with
a small profit; they may do so within
three months, or it may be that they
will have to wait fifty-one years, and
during that period they have also
a chance to win one of
several prizes-one of 100000
lire ($10o, 0o0), one of 100000 lire
Gao, OOO, of 100000 lire $3.50, 00o),
four of 100000 lire ($2O, O00) each, and
a great many other smaller ones-an
of which are drawn at different times
during the ffty-one years. This COM
bination was so favorably received
by the public that the bonds were all
placed at premium of IL per cent.
by the bank which undertook their ne
gotiation. At that time the Italian
public funds were yielding an income
of AZ per cent, and it was in the funds
of that Government that the society
was obliged to keep its funds invested.
OF the income of 1850 lire thus as
sured the society, 800, 900 lire year suf-
fees to meet the redemption of the tick
cts drawn, leaving 412,500 lire to the
society, with which it has enough not
only to pay the prizes, but also to form
q handsome profit for itself, while at
the end of the ffty-one years it be-
comes the absolute and sole owner of